Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

Key information

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB), is for people who are disabled because of an accident at work, or who have certain diseases caused by their work.

IIDB is a no fault scheme paid by Department for Work and Pensions.

If you have been injured at work and you want to claim compensation from your employer, you should seek legal advice from a personal injury lawyer.

Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Age rules: No age rules but you must have a contract of employment

Type of benefit: Non means tested

Taxable: No

Administered by: Department for Work and Pensions Industrial Injuries Benefits Centres

Index

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Who does it help?

People who are disabled because of:

an accident at work, or
in the course of their work, or
who have certain diseases caused by their work.

Only industrial diseases qualify, for example, diseases caused by chemicals you have worked with or hearing loss caused by your work. The Department for Work and Pensions website has a list of the industrial diseases and the jobs linked to them (link opens in a new window).

You do not have to have paid national insurance contributions to get IIDB. You can get it even if you carry on working or go back to work. You cannot get it if you were self-employed.

What help does it provide?

IIDB is paid directly into your bank, building society or Post Office card account. You can spend it as you want. It does not matter how much savings, capital or other income you have.

IIDB will be taken into account as income if you receive a means-tested benefit, such as income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit or Housing Benefit.

How is it assessed?

A doctor will assess how your disability affects you. The extent of your disablement will be stated as a percentage. Only the level of disability directly attributable to the accident or disease is taken into account. If you have an unrelated or pre-existing condition, the doctor will not include the effects of that in your percentage disablement.

Depending on the extent of your disability, this assessment will last:

For a fixed period
For life.

You can be reassessed if the level of disability caused by your accident or disease worsens or when a fixed period assessment comes to an end.

How much does it pay?

The amount depends on the extent of your disability and your age. For example, if you are assessed as 100% disabled you would get £161.60 a week.

Depending on the extent of your disability, you can be paid IIDB:

For a fixed period
For life.

You must usually be assessed as having at least 14% disablement to get benefit, although there are exceptions to this. Disablement of 14-19% is rounded up to 20% for payment purposes.

How do I make a claim?

England, Scotland and Wales

You can download a form from the GOV.UK website (link opens in a new window). There is a different form depending on whether you are claiming for an accident or industrial disease.

You can also phone your local Industrial Injuries Benefit Centre (link opens in a new window) for a claim form.

In Northern Ireland

You can download a form from the NI Direct website (link opens in a new window)

Or phone the Industrial Injuries Branch for a claim form:

Telephone: 028 9033 6000

There is no time limit for claiming IIDB. You can still claim if your accident happened or disease started some years ago.

A doctor or other medical professional will assess you after you make your claim. They will assess how your disability affects you. The extent of your disablement will be stated as a percentage and you must usually be assessed as having at least 14% disablement to get benefit, although there are exceptions to this.

What documents will I need?

When you claim IIDB, you have to provide your national insurance number and evidence of your identity.

Can it be backdated?

A claim can be backdated for up to three months if you would have been entitled to it earlier. It does not matter why your claim is late. Request this when claiming.

You cannot ask for Disablement Benefit to be backdated if you are claiming for loss of hearing.

Challenging decisions

If you disagree with the decision made on your benefit claim you can ask for a written statement of reasons. If you still believe the decision is wrong, for example due to incorrect information being used, you can ask for it to be looked at again, and/or appeal.

The time limits are strict, you will usually be given one month to dispute a decision, so it is important to seek advice and act quickly.

Further information on Challenges and complaints

Related benefits

As well as IIDB, some people might get:

Constant Attendance Allowance is paid with IIDB if you need care and attention because of your disability and you have a 100% disablement assessment. There are four rates of benefit. The amount you get depends on what care you have to have and how often you need it.

The benefits office will automatically assess you for Constant Attendance Allowance if you are assessed as having 100% disablement when you claim IIDB. If your disability gets worse after you have claimed IIDB, you can ask about claiming Constant Attendance Allowance then.

Exceptionally Severe Disablement Allowance is paid with Constant Attendance Allowance. You only get this if you are getting Constant Attendance Allowance at one of the two higher rates, and your care needs are likely to be permanent.

Reduced Earnings Allowance is a benefit you can get if your earnings are reduced because of your accident or disease, or if you cannot work at all. However, you can only get Reduced Earnings Allowance for industrial accidents that happened, or diseases that started, before 1 October 1990.

Retirement Allowance. This is for people who have been getting Reduced Earnings Allowance and who stop working after they reach state pension age. You get Retirement Allowance at 25% of the rate of your Reduced Earnings Allowance when you stopped work. You do not have to make a claim for Retirement Allowance because you only get it if you have been getting Reduced Earnings Allowance.

Last updated: 8 April 2013